For The Love Of A Muggle
by Lunylvgd
Summary: It's the summer after Harry's sixth year and, to escape memories of the ongoing war, Harry sets out into the town of Little Whinging to discover what it would be like if he had been brought up a muggle.
1. The Party

A bead of sweat was balancing on the bridge of his nose and Harry was waiting for it to fall. It was sweltering outside. Inside the house the air conditioning was humming pleasantly, but Harry had been kicked out for the afternoon after muttering the word "magic" under his breath to annoy Dudley. He let out a sigh as the sweat dropped from his nose and onto the dry grass. He wished it would rain right now. He would run in the rain and let himself drown in it. He felt like he needed to drown right now to wash out his mind. He wanted to just wash out all the ideas of the wizarding world and its problems.

Not for the first time that summer, Harry wondered what it would be like if he had never been a wizard, if he had never gone to live with the Dursleys. Never found out about Hogwarts or Voldemort. What would be if he were an ordinary muggle teenager?

He got up from his seat on the lawn and brushed the dried grass off the back of his jeans. He was going to find out. For the rest of the day he was going to forget the war, the deaths he had experienced, and the fact that he was the-boy-who-lived. For the rest of the day he was going to be a normal muggle teenager.

***

He walked along the sidewalk for ten minutes before he realized something; He had no clue where muggle teenagers hung out. He knew a few places not to go. He would not go to the places where Dudley and his gang hung out. He gave a sigh at his annoying predicament and stuffed his hands in his jean pockets.

He was right in the center of a thick residential area. It was a very rich residential area it seemed by the gorgeous houses that lined the streets. Each house had a large lawn overflowing with flowers, even in the heat. One house had gardeners working diligently on the greenery. Harry smiled. The Dursleys probably had to hire a gardener during the school year when Harry couldn't tend to their lawn.

He walked along the streets, enjoying the exercise. The sun was starting to go down and the streetlights began to flick on. He didn't feel like heading back. It wasn't like they would be worried. They would probably hope he had gotten run over by a truck.

He was pulled out of his thoughts by the sound of music. He strained his ears and followed where the sound was coming from. As he rounded a corner, he saw that a little way down the block there was some commotion going on. He walked toward it, intrigued. As he approached, he smiled at what he saw. Muggle teenagers. He stood a few houses away when he realized he had no idea how to go up to them. It looked like a big party and he could probably just slip inside, but what would he do there? Even if he could talk to someone, it wasn't like he knew what muggles talked about.

He cautiously walked until he was right in front of the house. He stood there wondering what to do next. He was a wizard! What was he doing trying to be a muggle? _Today you are not a wizard_ he reminded himself. Taking a deep breath, he walked up the driveway. There were teenagers everywhere. Harry wondered where the parents were. The rock music was blasting from the house and he could just imagine the Dursleys complaining about it. He leaned against one of the many cars and tried to look like he belonged. He busily tried to think of what to say if someone asked him what he was doing there. He was so stuck in his thoughts that he didn't notice someone lean against the car next to him.

"God, it's hot out here." a voice said. Harry quickly turned his head and noticed the girl next to him. She had wavy brown hair and dark eyeliner along her eyes. She was wearing a t-shirt that said "I love boys, they're stupid" and a jean skirt that just reached the top of her knees. She was looking straight ahead and for a moment Harry wasn't sure if she was talking to him until she turned her head to face him. Now that she was looking at him, Harry could see the deep brown eyes that were surrounded by the eyeliner. He randomly thought about how they looked like chocolate.

"Yeah," He muttered, not really sure what to say. He had never been really good at small talk.

"D'ya want to come inside?" she asked, tucking a bit of loose brown hair behind her ear. Harry now realized that it wasn't fully brown. It was more of a red, or maybe a little blond. It was like her hair couldn't decide what color it was.

"Um, yeah, sure," He said. She gestured for him to follow her and she walked up toward the house. Harry liked the way she walked. It was like she didn't have a care in the world. She practically skipped up the stairs to the porch. He followed her into the house, feeling the cold rush of the air conditioner blasting as he stepped into the crowded front hall. She was still walking, and looked back over her shoulder to make sure that he was following. She finally stopped in a small den that had only a few people in it. She grabbed a beer from the table and handed it to him before taking one for herself. He tried a bit of it. It was a little odd in his mouth and he would much prefer a butterbeer, but he continued to sip it.

"My brother got the beer," the girl said as she plopped onto the couch and Harry followed suit, "but I think it was intended for his friends." She smiled at Harry who was trying to look like he knew what she was talking about.

"You see, my brother is twenty. He is always having these parties because my dad is always away on business trips." She explained and took another sip of the beer. "He gets the beer and invites all his friends here. Of course, everyone in my school found out about the parties and they crash. My brother doesn't care because he gets to hit on my friends." She looked at her bottle for a moment and then at Harry. "You're not from Stonewall, are you?" she asked.

"No," he answered, remembering Stonewall to be the local high school.

"I didn't think so." She said with a smile. "What's your name?"

"Harry," he said.

"Jenna," she said and stretched out her hand. He took it tentatively and shook it once before dropping it. "So where do you go to school?" she asked.

"I go to a boarding school." He said.

"What is it called?"

"Oh, Hog-" he paused, realizing he had almost said the wizarding school's name. "-ington." He finished lamely.

"Where is Hogington?" she asked.

"It's in Scotland." He answered. She nodded and took another sip.

"You live around here during the summer?" she asked.

"Yup, I live with my aunt and uncle a little way from here." He answered. He didn't know why he was telling this girl that.

"Your aunt and uncle?" she said questioningly.

"Yeah, they took me in after both my parents died." He was a little surprised that he had said this. He had just met her. Pity washed over her face for a second before it was replaced with her usual expression. She looked down at her beer. Harry squirmed at the reaction. He should have lied. He didn't want her pity.

"I'm so sorry." she said quietly.

"It's okay. I was only one year old so I guess it's not too bad." He said, attempting to push off the topic, but she wouldn't let it drop.

"How did it happen?" she asked.

_An evil wizard who was mad for power killed my parents. That wizard has returned and I'm the one who has to stop him. Of course you wouldn't know that because you're a muggle._ He shook himself mentally. He had promised himself he would forget about that for tonight.

"It was a car crash. I was in the car as well, but I got off easy." He pushed aside his hair to reveal the scar on his forehead. "This is my souvenir from it." he said grimly. She looked up and saw the interesting shape of the scar. She reached up and gently ran her finger along the zigzag.

"It looks like a lightning bolt." She commented. He nodded and dropped the hair back onto his forehead as she pulled her hand away.

"That's how my mother died too." She said quietly, looking at her bottle again. "There was a drunk driver in the car that hit her." Harry realized that she was imparting personal information to him too. Maybe it was the comfort that they were strangers. That was why they were telling each other so much. "That's why I'm going to swear off drinking once I get my license. I'm going to get my fill of it now" she said half jokingly and held up her beer bottle.

For the next hour they talked about anything and everything. Harry was having fun making up his new muggle persona. He told her of the people in his dorm (using their actual names) and the teachers. He complained about Snape and Draco. She told him of her four annoying brothers and the fact that her father was never home. Harry really enjoyed this girl's company. He was finding it really easy just to spill out his problems (except for Voldemort) to her. Hermione and Ron had heard all of this a thousand times so it was refreshing to rant to someone who actually payed attention.

"Do you read?" she asked after they had talked a while. Harry raised his eyebrows at the funny question.

"Sometimes," he answered. He wasn't an avid reader like Hermione, but every once in a while he could find a good book in the school's library.

"I love to read." She gestured at the pile of books sitting next to the television. There looked to be about ten. Harry smiled at this. She was almost as bad as Hermione. "My brothers think I'm nuts, but I'm addicted. What kind of books do you like?" she asked, obviously loving conversations like these.

"I don't really have a preference." He said, hoping that was a safe answer.

"I love all types, too." She said. "My favorite type is fantasy. You know, magic and all that." He froze at her answer.

"Magic?" he said questioningly. She nodded.

"I can't get enough of it. Imagine being able to do anything with a word or a wand. Life would be a lot more interesting, don't you think so?" she answered enthusiastically, grinning at him.

He nodded and smiled._ You have no idea, _he thought. She amused him with an explanation of the most recent book she had read. She was interrupted from her description of the little town full of sorcerers and enchanters by a loud voice.

"Sis, are you boring him with your stories?" Harry turned around and he saw a tall man with dirty blond hair facing them.

"Bug off, Derrick." Jenna answered without turning around. Her brother turned to Harry instead.

"I haven't seen you around here." He said. "What's your name?"

"Harry," he answered.

"Of course you haven't seen him around here, Derrick. He goes to a boarding school." Jenna said, turning around to face her brother.

"A couple of my friends went to boarding schools." Derrick said. "What is your school called?"

"Hogington Academy," Harry answered. Derrick shook his head.

"I never heard of it." He plopped down next to his sister. She sighed and stood up.

"Come on, Harry." She said. "It suddenly started to stink in here." She glared at her brother and walked out of the den. Harry got up to follow. She was going up the stairs pretty quickly and he had to run a little to catch up.

She finally stopped in front of a room. The door had a large sign on it that said 'This is NOT a snogging room'. She pushed the door open and sat down on a chair inside, motioning for Harry to do the same. It took him a moment to realize that they were in her bedroom.

"Don't let my brother fool you. He's a git when you get to know him." she said. He just nodded a little and sat down on one of the butterfly chairs she had in her room. She looked straight at him, a thoughtful expression on her face. "All the blokes in my school are like that." She said. "I think you're different, Harry."

"Different?" he asked. She nodded.

"Any other guy I would have talked to would have started on how great they are at rugby or football. Any other guy would have made fun of me for liking fantasy books." She pointed out. _That's because I can't tell you about how great I am at Quidditch and I'm living those fantasy books, _he thought. "You're really nice to talk too." she said.

"Thanks," he said. "I liked talking to you, too." She smiled at him and then looked at her watch.

"Won't your Aunt and Uncle worry if you're not back yet?" she asked.

"What time is it?"

"Eleven o' clock," she answered. He cursed. The Dursleys would have no problem locking him out if he was late.

"I've got to go." He said, quickly standing up. She did the same.

"Okay, it was nice to meet you. Maybe we could get together again?" she suggested. He nodded.

"I'd like that." he said. She quickly reached for a pen and a pad of paper on her night table (Harry noticed there were wands all over the border of the paper) and scrawled something.

"Here's my mobile number." She said. "Call me, okay?" he took the paper, wished her good night, and got of the house quickly. He was practically running down the streets.

He finally approached the Dursley's house and knocked on the door. There was no answer and Harry sighed. He knew that the Dursleys probably weren't in bed yet, but were just ignoring him. He went to the side of the house and looked up at his window. There was a trellis that led to the window that looked like it would probably break under his weight, but he didn't really have another choice. Very carefully, he climbed up it and into the window that he had left open for Hedwig. He tumbled onto the floor and winced at the sound he made.

"What was that?!" he heard Uncle Vernon roar. He sighed as he heard his uncle coming to his room. The door was thrown open.

"It's after 11 o' clock! What the bloody hell do you think you are doing, making all that noise?" he roared at Harry, walking closer to him.

"Sorry about that." Harry mumbled. Vernon walked even closer to him and took a whiff. He glared at Harry.

"You smell like beer, boy." He whispered viciously. "Petunia! Petunia! Come here and see our nephew."

Petunia stumbled into the room a few moments later, her hair in curlers.

"What is it, Vernon?" she asked.

"Harry smells like beer." He said, grinning at Harry's predicament. Harry sighed inwardly. He hadn't even had a lot. He had drunk just a few sips and set it down. Petunia gasped dramatically.

"How dare you!" she shrieked. "Bringing this nonsense into our house! I'd throw you out right now if it wasn't for that crackpot old fool who teaches at your school." Harry grinned sadly to himself. The crackpot old fool that they spoke about was dead, but he wasn't about to let them know that. He let them berate him for half an hour before they finally left.

He got ready for bed and lay down, but wasn't able to sleep. All he could think about was Jenna. She was a bit on the odd side, but he liked her eagerness to make someone welcome. He looked at the paper she had given to him that now lay on his side-table. He hadn't really planned on calling her. This was just supposed to be for one night. Maybe he would call her just to see what would happen. He tried closing his eyes and slowly drifted off to sleep. He didn't have a single dream about Voldemort that night.


	2. I Was A Teenage Werewolf

A/N: Thanks to everyone who has put this on their story alerts. I wrote the first chapter sometime in 2006. I thought I had a few more chapters written, but I couldn't find them so I'm starting from scratch. I apologize if anything has changed in the writing style; it has been four years. Reviews are always appreciated. =)

Disclaimer: Damn it, I don't own Harry Potter.

* * *

Harry pried open his eyes the next morning , squinted at the clock next to him, and groaned at the time. It was past noon. He had fallen asleep quite late and was feeling the after-affects. He reached out a leaden arm to grab his glasses off his bedside table and knocked something to the floor. Pushing the bridge of his glasses up his nose and settling that on his face he reached down and picked up the paper he had knocked down. It was Jenna's number. He stared at the curve of her handwriting on the paper.

_Call me, _she had said. She said it like it would be that simple. But to make a phone call Harry was going to need access to the Dursley's phone. He didn't really make any phone calls, so he didn't know how the Dursleys would react to his request. They would probably go on about the phone bill and how much it cost to keep Harry.

Groaning, Harry rolled out of bed and pulled on a supposedly clean t-shirt and the jeans he had worn the night before. He shoved the paper in his pocket and opened up the door to greet the day and the Dursleys.

When he got to the kitchen he was greeted with the sight of Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia finishing off an early lunch. Uncle Vernon tore his glance away from the reporter on the television to glare at Harry.

"You missed lunch, boy." he grumbled like Harry had personally insulted him.

"And breakfast," Aunt Petunia added unnecessarily.

"Sorry," Harry mumbled, shoving his hands in his pockets as Aunt Petunia busied herself cleaning up the table. The Dursleys obviously weren't going to offer him any food. He wasn't surprised.

"I was wondering if I could use the phone." Harry spat out quickly and then braced himself for Uncle Vernon's wide eyed stare.

"Who do you need to call?" Uncle Vernon asked. "I thought those freaky friends of yours don't have telephones."

"Just a friend. A mug - uh, not someone like me." Harry muttered, looking down at the floor away from his uncle's prying stare.

"You don't have any friends who aren't freaks." Uncle Vernon said.

"Yes I do. Um, old friends from primary school." Harry countered. Uncle Vernon stared at Harry for a moment before nodding.

"Fine, you can use the phone. Just don't talk long." He motioned to the cordless phone hanging on the wall. Harry quickly grabbed the phone and walked out of the kitchen before his Uncle could change his mind.

"Make sure you bring it back, boy!" Uncle Vernon called after Harry.

Harry brought the phone into his room and sat on his bed, stomach grumbling. He had the slip of paper in one hand and the phone in the other. He began to dial before stopping. _What am I going to say_? Harry thought as he tossed the phone on his bed. He had never had to do this before. He rarely had to speak on the phone and it disconcerted him not to be able to see the face of the person on the other side.

He sighed, picked up the phone, and finished dialing the number. He pressed the phone tight against his ear. The dial tone rang in his ear once, then twice. _Maybe she's not near her phone, _he thought. It rang a third time and then a fourth. _Maybe she gave me the wrong number. _

"Hello?" a voice came through the earpiece. Harry held his breath for a moment.

"Hello?" the voice said again.

"Oh, hi!" Harry said quickly. "It's Harry."

"Harry?" Jenna asked.

"Yes," Harry said nervously. "Remember? From last night," he reminded her.

"Oh, I remember you," she said with a laugh in her voice, "I just didn't expect you to call so soon."

Harry groaned inwardly. He was always making faux pas in both the wizarding and muggle worlds. But in the wizarding world you got in contact with someone as soon as possible. He didn't realize that in the muggle world you were supposed to wait.

"Well, actually this works out well," Jenna said. "Me and a friend are going to the movies tonight with my brother and his girlfriend. A few other friends were supposed to come, but they canceled so we have room in the car if you want to come."

"Sure," said Harry excitedly. He knew Dudley was always going to the theaters, but Harry had never been to one. "That's be great."

"Cool, the showings at, like, five. We can pick you up? Where do you live?" she asked.

"Number four Privet Drive." Harry said. It was an address he had come to despise and associate with long summers with the Dursleys and it felt so strange to just casually tell it to this muggle girl. It was like he was telling her something else besides his address.

"Oh, I know where that is. We'll pick you up around four thirty, okay?" she said and Harry felt himself nodding before realizing she couldn't see him.

"Yes, four thirty. Can't wait!" he said.

"Well, bye, Harry." And with that Harry heard a click on the other end of the line. He pulled the phone away from his ear. He hadn't realized how tight he was holding it to the side of his head. A movie. This was a start. This was something Wizard Harry would never do.

"Boy!" he heard a voice rumble from the floor below. "Boy, you better be finished with that phone! We spend enough money on you as it is and we don't need you running about the phone bill as well!"

* * *

Harry was waiting outside for Jenna to pick him up. It was sweltering hot, but if he went back inside Dudley would just continue asking questions about who Harry's newfound friend was. Harry rested his hand against the side of his leg where he could feel his wand. It reassured him and he breathed in more of the warm summer air. He had debated whether or not to bring the wand, but in the end he felt safer with it. "_Constant vigilance!", _he could practically here Moody screaming in his head.

He heard a rumbling break through the silent night and a moment later a sleek silver car turned onto Privet Drive. It pulled to a sharp halt in front of number four and Harry could sense a curtain moving behind him as Aunt Petunia peeked out the front window. He smiled as he walked up to the car, knowing that Uncle Vernon would be flabbergasted as to who would be picking Harry up in this clearly expensive car. The back tinted window rolled down and Jenna's face appeared, smiling.

"Well," she said, "don't just stand there! Get in." Harry quickly moved to open the door and slid in to sit next to Jenna. She moved over to give him more space, adjusting her short black skirt as she did so. The car pulled away from Privet Drive and Harry took a deep satisfying breath as he was taken away from number four and the eyes that were peering out its front windows.

"Hello, Harry." said a voice from the driver's seat. "Good to see you again, mate." Harry saw that it was Derrick, Jenna's brother. Sitting next to Derrick was a girl with sleek blond hair who twisted around in her seat to look at Harry.

"Aren't you going to introduce the rest of us, Jenna?" she asked. Jenna rolled her eyes.

"Harry, this is Sara, Derrick's girlfriend." she said, grudgingly.

"Nice to meet you," Harry said as he shook the hand Sara extended to him. She gave him a dazzling smile before turning back around.

"And this," continued Jenna, gesturing to her right, "is Jake."

Jake gave a noncommittal nod from his seat next to Jenna before turning his attention back to the music blaring from his headphones. From what Harry could hear, it sounded like the guitars were dying a painful death and the lead singer had been hit by the cruciatus curse. He had jet black hair with a deep red stripe down the middle so he looking like a bloody skunk. He had on black jeans and a black shirt with a silver skull on it that reminded Harry of a Dark Mark. Harry shifted in his seat nervously, trying to push that thought out of his mind. Meanwhile, Jenna continued talking.

"We're going to see I Was a Teenage Werewolf. It's actually a remake of this movie from the 50s, but apparently It's nothing like the original and they just used the title because-"

"It's a movie Jenna is bullying us all into seeing as opposed to the action flick all the normal people will be watching." said Derrick, cutting Jenna off mid-sentence as he made a particularly sharp turn with the car.

"It got great reviews. Just because it's a fantasy movie doesn't mean it's not legitimate." Jenna snapped at her brother.

"I didn't say it wasn't legitimate. I just meant that I'd much rather be seeing a police chase than a werewolf fight." Derrick responded. "Trust me, Harry, you don't want to see this movie."

"I don't mind what we see." Harry said, but Derrick ignored him.

"And I'm glad we're not seeing Guns And Mayhem." Sara added, tossing her hair over her shoulder. "I heard I Was a Teenage Werewolf is a romance movie and that's much better than watching people shoot each other up."

"It's not just a romance!" Jenna protested.

"Whatever, if Sara really wants to see it, then that's what we'll see." Derrick said, turning his head to give Sara what he obviously thought was an I'm-such-an-adorable-boyfriend smile. "Eyes on the road, Derrick." Jenna snapped, folding her arms over her chest as Derrick swerved to keep the car in the correct lane.

When they got to the theater it took Derrick ten minutes to park the car in the overcrowded parking lot. They made their way into the stuffy theater and got on the line for tickets. Harry started digging into his pockets for the pound bills he had found stuffed in the bottom of his Hogwarts trunk. He had converted some money from Galleons to pounds the previous time he had been in Gringotts, just in case, but he had barely had a chance to use them. He pulled out a dog-eared ten pound bill before Jenna realized what he was doing.

"Oh, don't worry about that," she said. "We're paying."

"No, it's no problem, I've got the money." he said, but Jenna cut him off.

"Listen, it's my dad's credit card. He doesn't care what we do as long as it doesn't involve drugs so whenever we go to the movies we pay for everyone." she explained.

"Oh, thanks." Harry said as he shoved the pounds back in his pocket. In was strange to have someone else pay for him. He was used to offering to pay for other people (namely Ron) and not vice versa. As they finally got to the front of the line and Derrick bought the tickets, Harry realized that he might actually be richer than they were and he smiled at the idea that they thought he was just some poor boy who lived with his aunt and uncle and could barely afford a movie ticket.

"Well, see you," said Derrick and they walked into the theater. He turned down the aisle of seats, pulling Sara along with him. Obviously, Derrick wasn't about to sit with his little sister and her friends. Jenna shrugged and led the way down the aisle. Harry tried not to look too bewildered as he followed her. He had never been in a movie theater before. The place smelled like popcorn and spilled soda and the screen in the front of the theater was silently showing ads for local businesses. He imagined what Mr. Weasley would say if he could see all these muggles gathered here to watch a moving picture. Harry smiled. Yes, he was definitely going to have to take Mr. Weasley to a movie one of these days.

They settled down in their seats as the previews stared, Jenna sitting in between Harry and Jake. Harry was entranced by the previews with the bright graphics and loud booming sounds coming from the stereos and the deep voiced narrators. This was definitely different than watching a movie on television.

By the time the actual movie started Harry had gotten used to the feel of watching a movie. The plot of _I Was a Teenage Werewolf _seemed to be about a boy werewolf who falls in love with a human girl. The entire movie seemed to be the werewolf, William, having an internal conflict with himself about what to do with this obsession he had for the human girl, Tara. He didn't want to hurt her, but he loved her so much.

Whatever Jenna said, Sara was right. This was just a romance. Jake seemed to have zoned out of it and was glancing around the theater. Jenna had her eyes glued to the screen, not in fascination, but I concentration as though she were trying to dissect the film as it played.

At one point in the movie, William was transformed into a werewolf right in front of Tara and did not recognize her as the girl he loved. Harry clenched his teeth as he sharply remembered the night Lupin changed in the Forbidden Forest. _It's just a movie, _Harry said to himself. _That's not Lupin. It's not even an accurate portrayal of a werewolf. _The werewolf on-screen just looked like a large, sleek furred wolf. Real werewolves hardly looked like wolves at all and looked more like monsters than William. Not to mention that whenever William was human he seemed to have his shirt off, seemingly from it being torn during a transformation. Harry felt an itch to point out all the inaccuracies, but he reminded himself to act more muggle and he tried as hard as he could not to think of Lupin every time they mentioned the word "werewolf".

The ending of the movie was dramatic with other werewolves attacking William. Harry heard Jenna gasp as one of the werewolves jumped at Tara. Jenna grabbed Jake's hand tight and Harry heard Jake snort and saw him roll his eyes. Jenna relaxed once William saved Tara and let go of Jake's hand. Harry left his hand lingering on the arm rest between them, but Jenna didn't seem scared of the movie anymore.

"Well, that was a waste of time." Jenna declared as they left the movie theater and headed toward the parking lot. The lobby was fairly cleared out as their group was one of the last to leave the movie theater. Apparently, Jenna and Jake loved watching the credits roll and talking about the different actors and their performances. Harry was perplexed by this practice and had just stood there awkwardly.

"You didn't like it, sis?" Derrick asked as he joined them, his hand curled around Sara's waist.

"No, it was so stupid! I mean, can Tara just not do anything for herself? She's a bloody damsel in distress."

"What's wrong with that?" asked Sara. "Sometimes, you need a strong man to save you." She looked up at Derrick with twinkling eyes and Harry saw Jenna mime retching.

"Okay, but what the hell was the whole part where he watched her sleep?"

"It was romantic." said Sara.

"No, it was stalker behavior." Jenna said and turned to Harry. "Don't you think so?" she asked him.

"Um…" Harry stumbled. "It was kind of weird."

"See!" Jenna proclaimed as though this proved everything.

As they approached Derrick's car Harry noticed a group of teenagers standing together talking loudly. He eyed them as they passed. He recognized some, but couldn't remember from where.

"Hey!" one of them called. "Hey, Harry!" Harry groaned as he recognized the voice and didn't answer.

"Do you know them?" Jenna asked, glancing over her shoulder.

"No, just forget it. Ignore-"

"Hey!" he heard the owner of the voice walk up to him and give his shoulder a shove. "I'm talking to you!" Harry turned around to face his cousin.

"Hey, Dinky Diddydums." Harry said calmly as Jenna glanced between the two of them.

"Don't call me that!" Dudley roared as he shoved Harry again.

"Yeah, his name is Big D." said one of Dudley's cronies who Harry recognized as Piers Polkiss.

"Big D?" Jenna asked, wrinkling her nose.

"Haven't you heard of me?" asked Dudley, smiling widely.

"Nope," she said.

"I have," said a voice from behind Harry He turned around to see Jake walked towards Dudley, taking his ear buds out of his ears, the music still blaring from them as the cords dangled to his feet.

"You know Dudley?" Harry asked.

"Yeah," Jake said, not taking his eyes off Dudley. "Hey Duds, how's Smeltings?"

"Much better without having a poof around." Dudley snarled. He turned to Harry. "Makes sense that you'd be hanging out with this freak." He shoved Jake in the chest for emphasis.

Harry reached automatically for his wand, hovering his hand above his pocket. Dudley watched the hand nervously.

"You wouldn't," he whispered. "You wouldn't dare."

"You're right," said Harry, "but I still think it would be wise of you to get out of here."

Dudley looked around as though weighing up his chances and then, evidently deciding not to test Harry's willpower, took a step back.

"Whatever," he said, turning to his cronies, "They're not worth our time." He spat on the ground in front of Harry and walked away. Harry moved his hand off his pocket and turned to Jake.

"You went to school with my cousin?" Harry asked.

"Dudley's your cousin?" Jake asked, already starting to put his ear buds back in their proper place.

"Yeah, he's-"

"Oi!" Derrick shouted from across the parking lot. Apparently, he and Sara had decided to ignore the teenage confrontation. "You lot finished yet? Can we leave?"

Jenna sighed.

"We better go." she said, "We can work out everyone's family histories later."

They walked toward the car, Jake walking ahead, headphones back in his ears.

"So," Harry said, once Jake was out of earshot. "Jake's gay?"

"Yeah," Jenna said, "What about it?" She gave him a sidelong glance as though daring him to say something.

"Nothing," Harry said, staring ahead. "I just guess this means you guys aren't going out." He walked ahead to catch up with Jake, missing the smile that worked it's way across Jenna's face.

* * *

A/N: I Was A Teenage Werewolf actually was a movie in the 50s. I have never seen it and have no idea what it's about. Mainly I used that movie title as a salute to the Remus Lupins song by the same name. =)


	3. Swing, Swing

I think this is going to be updated weekly. Also, even though I have vague plan for how this story is going to go, if anyone has constructive criticism I will definitely take it into account. R & R please!  
Thank you for all the lovely reviews. You guys are completely awesome. =)

* * *

Harry spent the next few weeks of his summer escaping from number four as often as he could to hang out with Jenna and her friends. The Snow household became a place more familiar than the stark rooms of the Dursley's home. He met Jenna's other brothers- there was Matt, age fourteen, and Daniel, age nineteen. They always seemed to be "out" indefinitely. Jenna didn't bother to explain away their absences and Harry didn't ask. Derrick could be found hanging around the house often, generally with Sara. Despite Jenna's obvious distaste for Derrick they got along more then either of them cared to admit. Jake always seemed to be around along with others of Jenna's circle of friends. But Harry noticed that she was never all that happy about it. It was evident that she was extremely popular, but when Harry joked about it one night as they walked along the multitude of suburban side streets, Jenna had a different view.

"They're not my friends, Harry." she said, looking ahead at the stretch of perfect sidewalk.

"What are you talking about? Of course they-"

"No, they're not." She paused mid stride and turned to face Harry. "It's the clothing, the house, the cars." she explained.

"Jenna-" Harry started, but he didn't get a chance to speak.

"I mean, I've always known that Lara just wants my hand-me-downs. She already hinted about this shirt." She said indicating the plain white shirt she wore. Harry looked down at it and could faintly see the outline of a black bra underneath. He blushed and pulled his eyes back up to meet hers.

"What about it?" he asked.

"It's name brand." she said sighing. "I don't even know what brand. I ripped the tags off all my clothing in a fit of teenage angst this past spring. My dad insists that we all wear the very best."

"So, you have money. Is that a problem?" he asked.

"It is when it's the reason people are trying to be friends with you. I mean, these days I think the only real friends I have are Jake and-" she paused. "And well, you, Harry."

She turned and started walking quickly down off the sidewalk and into the street. There were no cars, just the silent sounds of the suburbs and the quick padding of her trainers on the tarmac. Harry sprinted to catch up until he was walking alongside her once again.

"Why do you have to buy the clothes your dad wants you to wear?" he asked, keeping up with her brisk pace. She shrugged.

"I've always listened to him. I mean, it's not like he's forcing me into them, but-" she paused, taking a moment to push a lock of her hair behind her ear. "I barely got him to let me go to Stonewall instead of Wellington." she said, naming the sister school of Smeltings. "He was so mad about it. So, I try to listen to him about these stupid little things. They're important to him ."

"So he didn't mind that you ripped all the tags out of your clothing?"

"Well, I didn't exactly advertise that I did that." she laughed.

That walked in silence for a little bit down the moonlit street. Harry felt like they didn't need to talk. That was what he loved about Jenna. She would talk when she felt it necessary, but if she didn't have anything to add she didn't try to carry the conversation any more than needed. She walked ahead of Harry, trying to walk in a straight line down the middle of the road, like a gymnast on a balance beam.

"Well," Harry called ahead to her "I can think of something more fun to do than attempting to get hit by a car." She looked over her shoulder, her feet still planted one in front of the other.

"And what is that?" she asked.

* * *

The park was empty, having been officially closed hours before when the sun set. Harry walked straight for the swings, his source of constant company before the days when he had found human company in this muggle world. He sat himself down on one of the swings and motioned for a skeptical looking Jenna to sit in the other swing. She sat hesitantly on the creaky swing as though she thought it might fall out beneath her.

"Do you not like swings?" Harry asked.

"No, it's fine." she said, grasping the chains holding up the swing firmly. "I just had a bad swing experience when I was little."

"A bad swing experience? Really?" Harry smirked.

"A certain eleven year old Derrick thought it would be hysterical to push my swing higher and higher as I was screaming for him to stop. I freaked out, jumped, and broke my arm."

"And you are so scarred by this experience that you still fear swings?" Harry asked, trying not to laugh.

"Well, I just-" she stopped speaking as Harry got off his swing and stood behind her. "What are you doing?" she asked anxiously.

Harry didn't answer. He reached out his hands to grab the chains. He pulled, dragging Jenna's feet off the dirt ground.

"No, no, no, no, no," she muttered. Harry pulled the swing as far back as he could and then let go as Jenna squealed. The swing started to swing higher as Jenna pumped her legs and Harry let go of the chains. He sat on his own swing and watched her fly back and forth laughing at her occasional gasps. Her hair flowed behind her like an auburn ribbon. A smile began to spread across her face as her legs pumped back and forth to keep the swing's momentum. She stopped the swing sharply by digging her toes deep into the soil and getting her undoubtedly expensive trainers dirty.

"Better than trying to get hit by a car?" Harry asked.

"I wasn't trying to get hit by a car!" she protested giving Harry's shoulder a shove. "But okay, I'll admit that wasn't as bad as my seven year old self led me to believe."

She dug her the toes of her shoes deeper into the soft soil.

"It felt like flying." she whispered, half to herself. Harry tried to keep his face blank, but Jenna had hit the nail on the head. The reason Harry loved the swings so much was how close it felt to flying. It wasn't the same as zooming eighty feet in the air on his firebolt, but during his stay at the Dursley's, it was the closest he could get to that feeling. When he closed his eyes and felt the air rushing past him he could pretend for a moment that he wasn't in Surrey anymore, but was somewhere more… magical.

Jenna was busying herself, twisting the swing round in a circle so that the chains became a braided rope above her. When she couldn't twist the chains any longer, she gave Harry a grin and pulled her feet off the ground. She started swirling like a tornado and became a blur only identifiable by the occasional squeak. Harry tried to pull his swing away from hers so as not to get hit by this force of nature, but he wasn't quick enough. Tornado Jenna's legs came flying out from their tucked in position, knocking Harry off his swing and taking the tornado down with him.

"Ow," Harry muttered and opened his eyes to see Jenna lying on top of his bruised body. "You okay?" he asked concerned. She wasn't answering him, just staring at him. Maybe she was in shock or something. Maybe she wasn't kidding around and this had brought up awful childhood memories of breaking her arm when she fell off the swing.

Harry was still debating all this when he noticed that Jenna's lips were way too close. And it wasn't until he felt them on his that he realized what was going on.

Their lips were a study of contrasts. Jenna's were sure and guiding, while Harry's were hesitant and explorative. This was new. This wasn't Cho or Ginny. This was Jenna. Her lips were eager, moving down to his neck, laying light kisses across his collarbone before flying back up to meet his lips.

But Harry's mind, so blank a moment before, was spinning now.

Ginny. The last girl he kissed was Ginny and-

"Hey!" he protested, pulling Jenna's hand away from his bum. She silenced him with another kiss before she responded.

"Sorry, couldn't help myself." she muttered, reaching up to play with his hair with one hand. At some point Harry had ended up on top of her and he could now see a very distinctive grass stain on her expensive white shirt.

"Your shirt-" Harry started.

"What?" Jenna asked, smirking. "Is it in the way?" She untangled her hand from her hair and reached down to pick up the edge of her shirt. Harry grabbed her hand and steadied it.

"Jenna! No, that's not what I meant. You have a grass stain, that's all." he pointed out. Jenna let go of her shirt and rolled her eyes.

"I've never met a boy who was so distracted when it came to snogging." she said. "I'm doing all the work here." She put on a pout. "Your turn." She let go of Harry and reached her arms above her head, lying flat on the smooth grass.

Harry heartbeat accelerated at the sight of her before him and he bent his head to engage her lips in battle. He stroked an arm from fingertips to shoulder and down the side of her torso making her shiver. But she didn't move, firmly rooted in the idea that it was "his turn." Harry kissed down her cheek to find her neck, then to her collarbone. She drew in a quick breathe which made Harry smile against her soft skin. He reached up to her hair and gently touched the auburn locks-

Ginger. Ginger hair. He blinked and froze.

"Harry? What's the matter?" Jenna asked, sitting up from her limp doll position. He shook his head trying to knock out the vision of Ginny that had just seeped into his mind. A vision accompanied by guilt.

"Um, I just realized that I'm going to get locked out of the Dursley's if I don't leave now." he said as he stood up. It was a lie. He had perfected sneaking into the Dursley's house at this point. He could now climb through the window without even waking Hedwig. Jenna frowned momentarily at his lame excuse, obviously suspecting something, but she didn't say anything more about it.

"Alright," she said, reaching out a hand for a Harry to pull her up. She brushed off bits of grass that had stuck to her jeans. The shirt was ruined at this point, but she didn't seem to care.

"I-" Harry started, trying to explain, trying to tell her what he was feeling, how confused he was, but as usual he came up short for words.

"No," Jenna said quickly, reaching out to cover his mouth. "You'll ruin it. Stop thinking so much." She removed her hand and moved it to his cheek.

"You need to shave, mister." she muttered.

"I'm trying to look like William, from the movie." he joked, "Don't you like the werewolf look?" He smiled as she rolled her eyes.

"No, I prefer vampires or wizards or even hobbits." she said, kissing him gently. Harry prided himself that he didn't even twitch at the Jenna's mentions of wizards.

He was halfway to the Dursley's when he began to berate himself. He was being so stupid. It wasn't like he was still together with Ginny. He was free to do as he pleased. He had no reason to feel guilty. And yet, something was gnawing at him that, despite all these rationales, felt wrong.

He reached the side of the Dursley's house and looked up at the trellis that reached to his window. He hated this. As he started to climb his barely stable mock-ladder he longed for the Burrow or for Hogwarts. Places he would never be locked out of. Where he would always be welcomed.

He reached the window he had propped opened and slid soundlessly into his room. Hedwig peered at him through yellow eyes and gave a soft hoot as though scolding him for coming home late. Harry shushed her as he pulled off his shoes. He sat on the edge of his bed, his mind whirling with images of Jenna, the Burrow, Hogwarts, Ginny, Ron, and Hermione. _One of these things is not like the others, he thought to himself as his head hit the pillow._


	4. Scar Tissue

**A/N: Bad fanfiction author. No cookie. It's been way too long since I updated this story. School, work, and my hard disk being corrupted (and therefore everything on my computer got deleted) got in the way. I have appreciated any favorites, reviews, story alerts, etc. I hope to be better at updating this so hopefully chapter 5 will make it's way in soon. And if you couldn't tell, then yes, all the chapter titles (besides for chapter 1) are song titles. =)**

* * *

"Where've you been?"

Jenna ignored Derrick and pushed past him to the sweeping stairs.

"Hey," he said, reached out and grabbing her arm.

"Get off me," she said, pulling away from him.

"You're not going to tell me where you were?"

"I was with Harry," she said. "Why do you care?" She started to walk up the stairs.

"I don't, but dad was asking where you were."

Jenna froze halfway up the stairs and turned around to Derrick.

"Dad? But he's not supposed to be home for another week."

"His business trip got cut short. He said he wanted to talk to you as soon as you got home." Derrick said, shrugging. Jenna walked back down the stairs, past Derrick, and down the hall towards their father's study.

The door was closed, as was usually the case. Jenna paused and then knocked hesitantly. She heard what sounded like an affirmation that she could enter so she pushed open the heavy wooden door. Her father was standing on a ladder that stretched from floor to ceiling against bookshelves that were just as tall. He turned to look at Jenna as she came in and looked her up and down, taking in the slight grass stains on the side of her white t-shirt.

"Hello, Jennifer. How are you?" he asked as he descended the ladder, a book in hand.

"Just brilliant. How was your trip?"

"Boring. So what does brilliant entail?"

"You know," Jenna said as she plopped herself into the padded leather seat in front of her father's desk. "Drugs, booze, hot babes."

"Oh, so the usual?"

"Pretty much." she said, playing with one of the many paperweights that lined her father's desk. Every year for his birthday she and her brothers got him paperweights and ties. He didn't really like presents, but he occasionally wore the ties and he kept the paperweights on his desk. The one she was playing with was blood red with a vein of gold color running through it, twisting through the stone. _Almost like a lightning bolt,_ Jenna thought, smiling as she thought of Harry's scar.

"So why did you want to talk to me?" Jenna asked.

"A father can't just chat with his daughter?"

Jenna gave him a look that clearly said that she thought not.

"Well," he sighed, seating himself in his own leather chair. "The truth is I wanted to discuss this whole Stonewall issue with you." Jenna set the paperweight back on the desk with a heavy thump.

"There's nothing to discuss. I've been going there for a year already. I thought we got past this."

"I was hoping I might be able to change your mind. I don't think you're getting the education you could get at a more prestigious school like Wellington"

"I'm not going back there." she said resolutely as she got off of her comfortable seat and left the office, not wanting to hear more. She pulled the heavy door closed behind her with a light click before leaned back against it, eyes closed.

* * *

Harry lay back on his bed, hands tucked beneath his head, completely and utterly unable to sleep.

This was to be expected, he supposed. Insomnia had come with his infatuation with Cho Chang. And he hadn't even really kissed Cho, at least not the way he kissed Jenna. Snogging Jenna was like snogging a force of nature. Like lightning. Absentmindedly, he traced the length of his scar with his finger.

He was pulled out of his thoughts by a insistent tapping on the window. Opening his eyes he saw what looked like a white moon fluttering out side his window. He grabbed his glasses of his bedside table and shoved them on his face.

"Hedwig!" he whispered. He jumped out of his bed and opened the window open to let her in.

"Be quiet, will you." he whispered as she swooped in. "Do you want to wake up the Dursleys?" Hedwig hooted as though she didn't really care about the Dursleys. She stuck a leg out to Harry. There was a letter attached to it and she waited patiently as Harry removed the scroll from it's ties. He'd already recognized the hurried handwriting of his best friend. He unrolled the parchment quickly as Hedwig ruffled her feathers and settled herself atop a bookshelf.

The letter read:

_Harry,_

_Just wanted to let you know that we haven't forgotten you over here. It's just been a bit busy. I can't say much in this letter in case of interception. I hope the muggles are treating you well. Or I at least hope you haven't murdered them yet. Hermione's come to stay at the burrow. She feels it'll protect her parents if she doesn't stay home. I don't know if she's right. It seems like hardly anyone is safe these days. The Order says that you can come to the Burrow right after your birthday. Mum begged them to let you come sooner, but they insisted you stay until then. I thought this was really unfair so me and Hermione were talking and we thought maybe we could come visit you and keep you company until it's time for you to leave. I don't know if the muggles would be okay with this, but I don't really care much. Write back soon, mate._

_-Ron_

Harry stared down at the parchment in his hands. The harsh reminder that there was a war going on beyond Privet Drive was evident in the letter. He had gone so long without having to really think about it that it felt strange now. Any other summer he would have been so grateful for Ron and Hermione's company at the Dursley's. And now that they both could apparate this was easier to organize. But this summer it might be… complicated. Still, Ron would be suspicious if Harry told him not to come.

Harry scrounged around in the drawer of his night table for a spare bit of parchment. He managed to find a small bit of unmarked parchment and a rather chewed up pen. He found that he liked using pens rather than quills.

He paused, pen poised dangerously above the parchment. And then he wrote:

_Ron,_

_It would be great to have you and Hermione come for a bit. I'll work it out with the Dursley's. Maybe you could come for the week before my birthday? Tell you mum and dad I said hi._

_-Harry_

He rolled up the parchment tightly and coaxed Hedwig off of the bookshelf. As he watched her fly off with his message he wondered why he hadn't just told Ron about Jenna. It was almost like he didn't want to collide these two worlds. The wizarding world that he had tried so hard to avoid all summer and the newfound muggle world that included things like tacky movies and Jenna. Those worlds weren't meant to meet.

He had a few weeks to worry about it anyway. He lay back down on his bed, closed his eyes, and let his thoughts drift off to patches of grass beneath an old swingset.

* * *

Dudley wasn't sure whether to believe the rumors. Piers had told him that everyone was saying that Harry was hanging around that Jenna girl. Dudley was suspicious. Harry had never hung around with other kids in the neighborhood before. Especially not with ones from the richer side of town.

Dudley suspected the M word was being used in this situation.

He was sitting at the breakfast table, making his way through the fifteen pieces of bacon his mother had put before him and watching Harry pick at his own two pieces. He should just tell his parents. They would stop whatever Harry was doing. It wasn't like Dudley actually cared about this Jenna girl, but it made his skin itch to know that Harry was doing anything magical.

"Duddykins," his mother sat in the chair next to him, a cup a tea held lightly in her thin fingertips. "I was wondering if maybe you wanted to invite Katie to dinner tonight." She said it as though it were just a passing thought, but his parents had been trying to find a way to meet Dudley's girlfriend all summer.

"Mum," Dudley moaned. Harry had looked up, trying to hide a smirk that appeared on his face whenever there was a request to meet Katie.

"Dudley, I think it's time we met her." his mother stated.

"Well, if I have to bring my girlfriend then Harry has to bring his." Dudley said, smiling evilly at Harry, who had dropped the piece of bacon he had been clutching in his fingertips.

"She's not my girlfriend." Harry said, frowning. "At least, I don't think-"

"Dudley, don't be ridiculous. We don't need another of his kind around here. Especially not when Katie is here."

"She's not one of his kind," Dudley said, and Harry had murder in his eyes. "She's one of our kind."

Petunia froze, teacup halfway to her mouth.

"One of our kind?" She asked, looking at Harry finally.

"Yeah," Harry said, quickly trying to busy himself with his bacon.

"Are you," Petunia stopped, as though trying to decide how to word what she was trying to say. "Are you doing anything you shouldn't with her." Harry looked like he was going to laugh.

"I haven't had sex with her or anything."

"No!" Petunia said sharply. "That's not what I meant. I mean have you been using-" she coughed. "have you bewitched her?"

"Oh, because the only way I could get a girl is with magic?"

Aunt Petunia let out a low hiss at 'magic'. She took another quick sip of her tea.

"Well I don't see why else a normal girl would want someone like you. Maybe you should bring her to dinner tonight." she said, coming to a decision.

"So you can see if I've used a love potion on her or something?" Harry asked angrily.

"They have those?" Dudley asked, wide-eyed.

"Dudley!" admonished Petunia, looking shocked. Dudley retreated back to his bacon. His mother gestured at Harry with her teacup.

"I want to meet her. Tonight."

Harry groaned and looked back down at his own bacon. His appetite had vanished. It was going to be an awkward dinner.


	5. Spiderwebs

It's been a while. I apologize. Thanks for all reviews/story alerts/etc. All were tiny reminders that I should get off my ass and continue this thing.  
_

Uncle Vernon stood by the door, tapping his foot, and peering out the tiny window at the top of the door.

"Your friend is late." He said to Harry.

"So is Dudley's." Harry pointed out, but apparently this didn't matter. And Jenna was only two minutes late. It was 6:02.

"Dudley went to go get Katie." Petunia said from the kitchen where she was tossing a salad that looked like it had half of Greenhouse 3 in it. "Harry, get over here and put this out on the table." Petunia had set the table to impress. She had put out the best china and folded each napkin into what Harry guessed was supposed to be a swan, but looked more like a run-over pigeon.

Harry grabbed the giant salad and set it out on the table. As he did so he heard a knock at the door. He ran to answer it, but of course Uncle Vernon was already there. Jenna was standing in the door, wearing a little yellow summer dress. Derrick's car pulled away from the curb behind her and Harry watched Uncle Vernon's eyes widen. Harry didn't know anything about car models, but Vernon definitely did and he was obviously impressed. Once the car drove away Uncle Vernon turned back to Jenna.

"You're late." he said, though not as gruffly as Harry expected him to. Harry had warned Jenna about his aunt and uncle and she seemed unfazed by Uncle Vernon's rudeness.

"I'm sorry. Thanks for having me over." She looked over Uncle Vernon's shoulder. "Hey, Harry."

"Hey," Harry said, smiling. He looked up his uncle. "Can we let her in?" Uncle Vernon was still standing in front of the door. He grumbled and backed away to let Jenna in.

Dudley and his girlfriend didn't arrive for another twenty minutes so Petunia and Jenna had awkward small talk in the kitchen. Harry wished he could bring Jenna up to his room so they could talk without his aunt and uncle hovering around listening to their every word. He had even cleaned his room, hiding all his wizard possessions. But the one time Harry had suggested showing Jenna his room Aunt Petunia got deadly quiet and gave him a look.

Finally, the front door opened and there stood Dudley. Next to him was a short, meek looking girl, who had her bangs almost completely covering her eyes. She looked incredibly nervous.

"Mum, Dad, this is Katie." said Dudley seemingly bored with the whole situation. Katie gave a little wave before glancing around the room as though looking for an escape.

"Well, good. Everyone's here." said Aunt Petunia. "Why don't we all make our way into the dining room?"

The all turned to follow Aunt Petunia, Dudley and Katie trailing behind. Harry glanced back and saw as Dudley grabbed Katie's hand, gave it a squeeze, and Katie noticeably calmed down and gave Dudley a smile. Bewildered; Harry turned back to Petunia who was instructing people on where to sit as though she were landing planes at an airport.

The salad wasn't that bad and Aunt Petunia seemed intent on impressing with culinary skills. She probably just meant to impress Katie, but Jenna was the one who complimented Petunia on her chicken a la orange. Katie hadn't said a word since she sat down. Harry wasn't talking much either leaving it to Dudley and sometimes Jenna to lead the conversation. Jenna was multitasking though. While Harry poked his fork into his chicken he tried to ignore the hand that had made its way onto his knee. Jenna looked as though she was very focused on the conversation she was having with Uncle Vernon about his drill company. Apparently, Jenna's father dabbled in drill company investments. Or something like that. Harry wasn't sure. Jenna's leg was now rubbing against his own. Her hand had made it up to his thigh. He put his hand on hers to still it, but Jenna just took that as a sign to continue. Harry gave her a look and she returned it with an evil one of her own.

By the end of the meal it was clear the Dursley's had put their stamp of approval on Jenna. Katie had still managed to not say a word even though they had asked her multiple questions. If anything required more than a nod or shake of the head, Dudley would answer for her. The two were such a strange contrast. Dudley told them that Katie went to Wellington and they met at a dance mixer. Katie just nodded.

All in all, it was a surreal night. As soon as dinner was over Dudley grabbed Katie and took her upstairs. Harry noticed that the Dursleys made no sign of protest. But he decided not to point this out as the Dursleys decided to retire upstairs themselves and after thanking Jenna for coming left the dining room.

Harry looked at Jenna, who was delicately attempting to knock over the pile of clean napkins Mrs. Dursley had set on the table. She was very concentrated on her task, but gave a gasp and knocked over the entire pile when she felt Harry's hand resting on her knee.

"Two can play at that game." Harry said. She smiled, grabbed his hand, and with a tug and a crash had pulled Harry onto the floor.

"What-" Harry started.

"That," she said, "is a move you learn when you have so many older brothers."

"Oh, so you think of me like a brother?" He said with a smile.

"Hell no," she said. At this point she was straddling his waist. "I definitely don't do this for Derrick." And with that she started to unbutton the tiny yellow buttons on the front of her dress and humming mock strip club music.

"Jenna!" Harry tried to grab the buttons to close them, but she was insistent. "Jenna, someone could come down!"

"Nah, they're all busy." She continued unbuttoning and Harry saw a glimpse of the shiny black bra she wore underneath.

"Jenna," he started, not wanting the words coming out of his mouth. "Seriously, this is a bad idea. Let's at least move somewhere more... private."

Jenna pouted.

"Come on," said Harry, smiling with a new idea. She got off him and let him up. He took her by the hand and led her to the staircase. She gave him a confused look, but he just reached down and grabbed the doorknob that extended from the side of the stairs.

"The cupboard under the stairs?" she asked, looking like she was trying not to laugh.

Harry reached into his old cupboard, tugged a string to turn the light on, and peeked inside. As he had guessed, now that he no longer lived there, Petunia's neurotic tendencies had caused her to keep the cupboard free of dust and spiders. All that remained was Harry's old bed, under which he knew was his Hogwarts trunk.

Jenna giggled, enthralled by the sight of this mini room, and jumped onto the bed. She patted the blank space next to her and he lay down beside her, pulling the tiny door closed behind him.

"This is so cute." she squealed "Why on earth do your aunt and uncle have a bed in here?"

"This used to be my room." Harry said, staring up at the underside of the stairs where there used to be spiders, but now not a cobweb could be seen.

"You're kidding!" Jenna turned onto her side and Harry could feel her eyes bore into his temple as though she could know what he was thinking if only she stared hard enough.

"Seriously. I slept in here until I was 11. Me and this cupboard go way back." He patted the wall as though it were a close friend. He was staring off into the ceiling again, lost in memories of his pre-Hogwarts childhood when her face appeared in his line of vision, blocking the view.

The kiss was short and intense and made it's way to more unfastened buttons and Harry's unfortunate loss of his shirt. Discarded clothing made for more bedding as there was no floor to toss it onto. Jenna's yellow dress bunched up near the foot of the bed like a deflated sun. Harry took notice that while here bra was black, her underwear was hot pink. She ran her hands down his now bare chest to the buttons of his jeans and tugged impatiently. Harry grabbed her hand.

"Wait, wait." he said breathlessly.

"What?" she asked, exasperated.

How was he supposed to explain why he couldn't go further? How he had been fighting the image of Ginny every moment he had been kissing her? How he didn't want to rush because he loved what they had and was afraid to spoil it? How everything boiled down to the fact that eventually he'd either have to tell her everything or dump her and move on?

She looked down from her perch on top of him, breasts barely staying in the black bra, chest heaving with the exercise of the past minutes. Her hair fell in loose curls around her face, reaching down to him like Medusa's snakes. She was beautiful and willing and any normal teenage boy would take the up the offer in a heartbeat.

But Harry wasn't a normal teenage boy.

"What is it?" she asked, concern now starting to cloud her eyes. "Is everything okay?

"No," he said, gently moving her off of him. "No, I think... maybe you should go. It's nothing to do with you." he said quickly, seeing the hurt in her eyes. "It's something I need to work out myself."

She dressed quickly and reached for the door of the cupboard before turning to him.

"Who is she?" she asked.

"What? No one. I'm not chea-"

"I didn't say you were cheating. But you're thinking of someone else. I can see it when you stall. Just figure your shit out, Harry Potter."

With that she pulled herself through the tiny cupboard door and Harry heard the front door slam behind her a moment later. He pulled his cupboard door closed again, turned to face the other wall, and closed his eyes.


End file.
